wtf is with all the screens this year?
 

I haven't been as active on this board as much this year, partly due to time and partly due to not always relishing football talk right after a loss, so I might have missed it if this has been discussed already, but...

What is with all the fucking screen pass plays we've been running this year? I can't think of a single time this season where one has gone for positive yards, but they continue to make up a disproportionate percentage of 1st and 2nd downs from this team. Is this some mathematical high-percentage play that the team just isn't executing or something? Is it part of some deeper tactic by Reich & Co. that's expected to "click" at some point?

Come to think of it, I should probably just call them what they are: Passes completed behind the LOS, because I've yet to see the line adequately "screen" a single one of them.

Can one of you nerds who are smarter than me about this crap illuminate this for me somehow?

IMO: of course talent and timing plays into it, so not discounting wholesale, but...

Reich views the screen game as an extension of the running game. Reich also isn't creative enough with his actual ground running game, which is a part of the reason for the total stall in the run game of late. (Why the hell did they draft Nelson 6 overall if they're barely gonna bother to pull him, and ask him to set back in pure pass pro?!)

So hopefully Reich learns to be a little more creative with the actual ground game, and work in the screen game as endemic to a game plan that can also create chunk plays out of defensive second-guessing (see also: DBs biting on screen fake creating Ebron's TD on Sunday)

Running game looked pretty damn good in the 2nd half last week. It's also hard to be effective when you're starting 3rd string tackles and don't have a starting-caliber between the tackles runner on the gameday roster (until Mack returned last week).

Let's re-assess in 3 weeks after the offensive line has (hopefully) been intact for more than one game and they have an actual deep threat outside. Thus far, they've been telegraphing the screens for a variety of reasons.

You raise a good point in that the predominance of screens can set up opportunities for confusion or hesitation that leave defenders out of position for a deeper shot to a TE, but that value is a little dubious when weighed against the number of wasted downs.

If you spend half a fight punching yourself in the face, you might through misdirection land a shot on your opponent, but at the end of the day you still helped kick your own ass.

This is huge.

I'd need to rewatch a bunch of downs to know for certain, but there's got to be a tell somewhere that other teams have picked up on through film on us so far.

Colts have relied too heavily on the quick passing game and haven't made LBs respect the medium/deep middle of the field, so the defense is naturally better positioned. O-line hasn't timed their breaks very well. RBs don't sell it.

Though, at the end of the day, I think it is slowing down the pass rush to some extent. I think we'll start to see a better running game the next few weeks, which will open up the playaction game, which will stretch the defense and allow for more production in the screen game.

Though, to go back to the OP, the Colts got a TD on Sunday by faking a screen and hitting Ebron up the seam. Reich is making some adjustments.

I do think this is a lot of it. Once they establish a more consistent medium and deep passing game the screens should wor a lot better.

What screens? Last game the backs were targeted twice in the entire first half and one would have been a TD if it wasn't dropped.

Right now they are probably our best targets besides TE. I don't necessarily need to see a screen - how about a wheel route and then play off that later in the game.

It seems they're not running plays to setup other plays later in the game.

My biggest gripe lately is how vanilla the def looked. 4 man rush every single down. When you give up 7 straight scoring drives, do something different - can't be any fkn worse.

I think they are telegraphing something that defenses have picked up on.... and already been said